


A New Kind of War and Peace of Mind

by Duchess



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: And I really mean SLOW, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Romance, F/M, First Time, Fluff, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I started this when I should have been sleeping, Mind Control, Post-Canon, Sloowww Build Sesshoumaru/Kagome, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2017-03-04
Packaged: 2018-09-03 17:15:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 18,378
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8722075
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Duchess/pseuds/Duchess
Summary: Six years have passed since Kagome Higurashi returned to the Modern Era.  Older and perhaps a little wiser, she has moved on with her life and put the Past behind her.  Suddenly and unexpectedly summoned back to Sengoku Jidai to help against a new threat that comes from the future, Kagome must now help the very people who hurt her most.  Can one soul who believes in little teach another to hope and possibly believe in love again?  And can they really defeat an enemy they don’t even know how to fight while trying not to fight amongst themselves?





	1. Chapter I

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place after the series and manga ends, but with a complete disregard for some aspects of The Final Act - mainly the whole relationship of InuYasha and Kagome. Just no. I reject this reality and insert my own.

_“Monsters are real, and ghosts are real too.  They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.”  ~ Stephen King_

 

** PROLOGUE **

 

 

“Are you sure this is where it is Magnus?” asked the silky voice as red eyes turned to the hunched man draped in black beside him.

“Yes, master,” replied the old wizard in a raspy voice; the after-effects of being stabbed in the throat and living to tell about it.  Eyes cast to the ground, he added, “You will find what you seek in this land of old.  I swear it.”

“It better be here, wizard.  My time is precious.  I do not care for it to be wasted…” he hissed, eyes glowing bright.  “Now tell me again; _why_ did we have to come to this,” he looked around him in mild disgust, a sneer on his face, “ _primitive_ … time?  Could it not have been acquired in our own time?”

“It could not, master.  The jewel’s powers are strong - though not as strong as they are in the future – here they have not been unlocked nor has it bonded to _her._ Here is where it began.  In this time she does not exist.  If you get the jewel now she’ll never have it in the future and without the Shikon no Tama its wielder…”

“It’s mistress will never exist…” finished the crimson eyed creature.  “Or, even better… I can easily drain her of every drop of blood in her body,” he sighed, licking pale lips as the gold-toned skin of the lady came to his mind. 

Nose twitching, the crimson eyed creature shuck off his euphoria as his head tilted in curiosity. “There is a stench in the air here.  It’s potent, sweet… _powerful,_ ” he sniffed, “and it’s _not_ human,” he hissed as he searched the area around him with heightened senses.

“Youkai,’ whispered the wizard in response, not daring to look at the creature beside him.  “In our time the demons hide themselves amongst the humans and are believed to be nothing but a myth.  Here, now... they dominate.”

“Interesting.  You’ve done well Magnus, for now,” he smiled, fangs gleaming in the moonlight.  “Now go. Bring the others through.”  Looking up at the full moon above, he plotted.  “Tonight they can feed.  Tomorrow… they _hunt_.”

Soon, he’d find out what this world, this time, had to offer, but, first, he’d get the jewel and then he’d get the woman who dared to stand in his way.

Then the future… the _world_ … would be his.

 

 

** Chapter I: **

 

“The number of deaths is growing Inuyasha… _and_ the number of disappearances!” yelled Sango.  “We can’t fight… whatever those _things_ are alone!  We need help!”

“Sango is right, InuYasha,” sighed the monk standing beside his wife, one of the last remaining taijiya.  “You must have realized that we’ve stopped winning more than two days ago.  They are stronger, faster and more vicious then anything I have ever encountered and, so far, we know of only one way to defeat them; taking their heads.  Do you know how difficult that is for a human?  Most fatal blows that would kill a human – and some youkai – only slow these creatures down.”

Miroku leaned heavily on his staff as he favored his injured side.  “I hate to say it, but I almost wish Naraku was back, than I’d have my wind tunnel for aide.  You need to go get her, InuYasha.”

“WHY!?” yelled the hanyou angrily.  He did not want to do what they were asking of him.  He wasn’t sure he could.  “What can she possibly do that we can’t?  She was weaker then Shippou!”

“You know very well that was of no fault of her own, nor should it even be a factor now.  She’s from the future InuYasha,” said Miroku, trying to reason with the hanyou. “Perhaps she knows… something of-”

“She never seemed to know anything when she was here…” he huffed, cutting his friend off.  “Why would this be any different?  We don’t need her!”

InuYasha was almost hysterical with his need to change their minds.  He would rather face a whole army of those unknown _things_ then face Kagome Higurashi.  Even though over six summers had passed since she’d gone back to her own time, never to return, he still remembered how he’d wronged her.  He still had nightmares of the look on her face when she’d turned to him just before jumping in the well.  _Betrayal_.  It had sat clearly on her face for all to see.

And the hanyou still wasn’t sure why he’d chosen the way he did.

“No,” shaking his head dejectedly, he bowed his head as his anger dissipated.  “We have to d-”

“You must,” spoke a new voice from there left.  They all turned towards the unexpected sound.

Kikyou stood in the doorway as her eyes shifted from one to the other before coming back to the hanyou.  She’d had an uninterrupted view of their argument since they were all too busy to notice her arrival near the beginning of their discussion.  She had first decided not to interfere, thinking the taijiya and monk were correct, then she saw how they were going to lose the argument and she knew she couldn’t keep quiet.  She had a feeling she knew why InuYasha was refusing to go get the other woman, but he would have to get passed it.

Quietly Kikyou moved forward, coming to a stop right in front of InuYasha.

“You have to go get her and bring her back.  We need the Shikon no Tama and it’s bearer.  It is possibly the only power that can stop whatever those things are.”

“We have you for that,” he replied with narrowed eyes. She stared back at him silently for a moment.  Knowing the truth could not be hidden any longer, that he needed to face his denial even if she had to force him.  Sighing inwardly, she spoke, her face remaining impassive.

 “Do we?” Is that the only reason she was there?  Is that the reason he chose her?  She’d been contemplating that for a long while now… maybe she was finally becoming ready to hear the answer.  “When was the last time you seen me use the jewel?  Name one moment since she left.”

InuYasha shifted uncomfortably as he averted his eyes from her unflinching stare.

“You need to face facts, InuYasha.  You know as well as I that I cannot access the power needed.  In truth, I never have been able to.”

“What? But I thought the jew-”

“It’s true I might have once been chosen, but that is no longer the case and hasn’t been for a very long time.  Maybe even before my death,” she interrupted; already aware of what he was going to say.  “I accept that fact just as I accept that it was by my own doing that the Shikon will never choose me.  It is as it should be; she has grown to be much stronger than I ever was.  Her spiritual power had always held the potential to one day surpass my own, we all know that.  You are the only one here who refused to see it, InuYasha.”

She ignored the other two’s agreeing nods, seeing the look of doubt appear on the hanyou’s handsome face.  “There is a reason it was her powers Magatsuhi chose to seal,” she acknowledged with small, graceful shrug, "With his death she was far more powerful and her potential for growth was exceptional.  With the proper training… her abilities would be unmatched by any other miko.  The jewel recognized all this and more and in the choosing… it chose her.”

“The jewel chose Kagome,” breathed Sango in disbelief, shaking her head.  “Then why… I don’t understand… Why did Kagome leave if the Shikon chose her?”

“Because you all chose me,” replied Kikyou turning to look at the other woman.

“Yes, but…”she looked at the monk before giving the miko an apologetic look, “I’m sorry, but we only chose you because….” Her eyes lifted to the hanyou behind the miko.

“Because InuYasha did,” finished Kikyou with a small nod.  “I know.  You did it for her, not for me.”

“I’m sorry… it wasn’t personal.”

Kikyou tilted her head to the side as she regarded the taijiya and the monk as they stared at her apologetically.

“Do not be,” she said quietly.  “I imagine I would have done the same in your place.  _Your_ decisions,” she looked between them, “I understood.  I was surprised… but I understood.”  Turning back to look at InuYasha, she shuck her head lightly.  “Yours, I did not… I still do not.”

InuYasha looked away.  “I thought the jewel would choose you.”

“I know,” she said evenly, regarding him.

“You knew?” he asked, looking back at her, though it wasn’t the real question on his mind.

“We both did,” she responded, also answering the question he didn’t voice .

“You knew the shikon had chosen Kagome and you never said anything?  Why?” asked Miroku, bewildered.  “Why did you let us choose you?”

“It was not for me to tell,” she replied. “And as for the choosing… you will have to put that question to Kagome.  It was her doing, not mine.”

“Why didn’t you tell _me_?” hissed InuYasha, crossing his arms.  “Why didn’t _she_ tell me?  I would have…” he trailed off.  He would have what?  Chosen differently?  He wasn’t sure.  “You should have told me.”

“You would have chosen her,” she finished for him and, for the first time, letting the pain show in her eyes.

“I don’t know,” he looked away.

“ _I_ know,” she whispered.  “You chose me InuYasha because of an obligation to a promise you made to me years ago.  Realizing you could not go with me to Hell, you brought me back… and sent her home.  For some misguided reason you believed you still had to honor your promise after the way I betrayed you, yet your eyes always strayed to her.  Whenever I was there you saw her.  I wonder… did you think, because I was _dead,_ I would not notice?”

She looked away from him then.  It was too painful to watch him look at her with that guilty look on his face.  Did he think she was still made of dirt and clay?  That she had no feelings?  Even when she was dead she still felt; why did he think she had done all those things?  Acted the way she had?  _Hate_ is just as strong as _love_.

“I know why you chose me, what I could never figure out is why you married me when you clearly wanted her.” she whispered softly.

He had no answer to give that would not make matters worse.

Kikyou knew the answer; he wanted both her and Kagome.  Despite popular belief, the hanyou was not a fool.  He knew he could not have what he wanted so he chose her – the _easier_ choice.  She knew it.  She only wanted to hear him say it, for him to finally own up to the truth.  Squaring her shoulders she hardened herself and her voice.  “You have a choice; go to your brother then go get Kagome or go get her now.  Either way you will have to face her.  You and Lord Sesshoumaru is not enough to destroy what is out there now.  Not alone.”

After a moment she turned and walked back the way she had come.  Stopping in the doorway, she turned back to the silent room, watching the hanyou stare back at her.

“I hold your loyalty, yet she holds your heart.  But tell me, InuYasha, what good is one without the other?”  Averting her eyes, she looked towards the ground.  “Let me know should you ever figure it out.  I would be interested in hearing the answer.  She and I are not one and the same, InuYasha.  I think it is pass time you realized that.”

Head held high and with a grace all her own, she left the room.

“We’ve wronged her,” whispered Sango, thinking of the friend she’d lost.

“No,” said InuYasha, even quieter.  “I did.”

Both the monk and taijiya exchanged similar looks, each wondering which miko their friend was referring to, because in their eyes both women fit the answer.

“Keh!” huffed the hanyou and, muttering to himself, leaped towards the window and out into the morning light.

Sango turned worried eyes to her husband.  “What now?”

“Now we wait,” he replied as he sat down, heavily, on the bench against the wall behind him. “There is nothing else we can do.  InuYasha is the only one who can get to Kagome now.  He will have to go … and finally face what he’s been dreading since the moment she left,” he answered with a heavy shrug.  “Like Lady Kikyou said; he doesn’t really have a choice.”

“Can’t we do anything more to help?” she couldn’t help asking again, though she didn’t expect the answer to be different.

“What we’ve always done,” he replied reaching for her hand and pulling her closer to him, “survive.”

“Do you think she’ll come back?” she whispered into his throat as she bent forward to rested her face there.

He hoped so.  Sadly, Miroku knew there was a strong possibility Kagome wouldn’t even bother listening to whatever InuYasha decided to say, because he knew if it were him he probably wouldn’t either.

“I don’t know, but she's a better woman than me,” he replied quietly, a small attempt to lighten the mood a bit.  “But knowing Lady Kagome as we do, I would say it’s a good possibility.  Protecting others is what she does.  I’m just not sure it’s a good idea for her… because while she’s protecting everyone else, who will protect Lady Kagome?”

 

They both knew he wasn’t speaking physically.

 

~**~

 

Amber eyes watched the two ningen children play in the garden below, but the Taiyoukai’s mind was somewhere else.

The new threat that had shown up in his Land near a fortnight ago was causing him more trouble then he cared to deal with.  With each battle he fought with the unknown creatures that looked like humans but smelled of death he learned more and more.  And what he had learned he did not like. 

The enemy had proven to be quick, strong, fierce and not unintelligent.  Some had demonstrated skills and techniques he had never seen the likes of, but with all that skill they could not enter a place they had not been invited or one that held holy power.

The fact they seemed to show an ability to coax an invitation out of their prey was frustrating, yet curious.  From what he could tell they seemed to have some sort of power over minds, but in all of his fights with them he had not seen the power demonstrated once.

The tinkling laughter below him broke him out of his revelry.  He watched the little girl and boy play as he took in their appearances.  It amazed him how quickly ningen children grew. His Rin was around fourteen summers now and the top of her head had already reached his waistline.  The boy, Kohaku, had grown as well, Sesshoumaru noted, and estimated him to be about three or four summers older than Rin.  He had observed the boy at the training area the other day and had noted his skill had also improved greatly.  He imagined that the boy could probably give his taijiya sister a good spar now – maybe not beat the woman – but definitely provide her with a good fight.

The spar would have to wait though.  Even though he knew the children were safe enough when in his company he was not allowing them to leave the palace grounds until the current threat was efficiently eliminated.  Unless himself, Jaken (since fire had proven to be a very useful weapon against the creatures) or one of his more trusted guards were available to protect Rin he did not allow Kohaku to leave her side – even inside the palace walls.  And neither child was allowed out of the compound once the sun went down for night had proven to be the most dangerous time for any ningen to be out of their homes.

Though he had never said it to her, Rin had come to mean a great deal to him and all within his household.  There was not one youkai or ningen who did not hold the always happy child in some regard.  All knew the human girl was his to protect for he had claimed her as his own and as such, all knew that if the child should ever be harmed retribution would follow swiftly and painfully. 

Sesshoumaru did not have any children of his own – he did not even have a mate – and he was not sure if he ever would.  He was still very young by youkai standards and did not feel like acquiring either a mate or child of his own at the moment – also he had yet to meet a female that met with his approval.  Though he had no prior experience with children he figured the way he felt for the human girl was probably how a father felt for a daughter.  She was his and he would destroy anything that tried to harm her… and the boy.

Sesshoumaru was very aware of the fact that he needed an heir.  He had been contemplating making a bargain like the one his father had made with his mother… but he needed to think on that a bit longer; he did not have a great deal of patience for any of the females he knew, be they youkai or ningen.

He did not have a great deal of patience for most creatures of either species or gender, truthfully, since he did not have much use for those too weak to take care of themselves to, at least, some extent.  Rin was the weakest being in his home and even she was currently being trained to protect herself along with other daily lessons.  She may be a ningen, but she did not have to be weak and ignorant.

Right now such thoughts as those would have to wait; he had another, more pressing problem to take care of.  As Lord of the Western Lands he had an obligation to protect those that lived there.  Many youkai would argue that he only had an obligation to the _youkai_ that lived there, but he knew what his father would say – and perhaps his mother as well.  They would say he needed to find a way to protect _all_ that called his Lands home… and his father would have done just that.

Despite his feelings about ningen in general, or lack thereof, he would do what his position demanded of him.  And he would kill the creatures that dared to terrorize his Lands without his permission.  Sesshoumaru refused to give his father another reason to be disappointed in him; he would figure out a way to eliminate the threat.

According to Bokusen-On-sama the creatures were not of this world nor, as the nettle tree youkai had put it, of this _time_.  The ancient youkai had suggested he seek out the miko who wore the strange garb that traveled with his brother, but Sesshoumaru had not seen the miko with his brother for many seasons now.  And something the tree youkai had said made him believe the miko was currently inaccessible to him.

_… “Where do I find the miko?”_

_“To find the miko you must seek out the hanyou prince, your half-brother, for he alone knows the way.  Or, if not, should you decide to find the young priestess on your own young lord, you need go to the Bone Eater’s Well and there, only in the ‘tween, can you pass.  But be warned, first son of Taisho, the ‘tween changes with time and you must be sure to go at the right or find yourself in the wrong.”…_

He was not sure what it meant but he had gone directly to the well at the time and while he had sensed a strange aura coming from the wooden structure he had not found anything that could help him understand what he needed to do or where to look.

Sesshoumaru had a strange suspicion that matters with this enemy that preyed on both ningens and youkai was going to prove to be more trouble before it was finished.

The nameless creatures were there for a reason.  Somehow, he must find out what that reason was.

But first, he needed to find InuYasha’s miko.

 

***

 

InuYasha ran towards the fields.  He wasn’t sure where he was going nor did he have a destination in mind; just away from the others and the look of sorrow in their eyes. 

Didn’t they realize what they were asking of him?

Once he’d looked the woman he loved more than anything in her face and told her the opposite and, after watching her tears, he’d sent her away.  All out of a need to protect her… and himself.

Kagome had given the choice to him.  She didn’t even tell him who the jewel had chosen in the end and because she wouldn’t tell him he’d always assumed it was because she was embarrassed because the jewel had chosen Kikyou and not her.  So, when she’d told him the jewel had said that she and Kikyou could not exist in the same time together and that she was giving the choice to him… he’d chosen Kikyou.

InuYasha had thought he was doing her a favor; letting her know that it was okay if she went home.   He had wanted to keep them both, but he knew neither one would go for that and he didn’t feel it would be right to hold Kagome back in his time when no matter how much he loved her he still loved Kikyou, too.  Kikyou was the stronger of the two and the Shikon had chosen her.  He figured his choice would solve everyone’s problems:  Kagome could go home with a clear conscience, Kikyou could get a second chance and he wouldn’t have to keep his promise, which he really _didn’t_ want to do. 

He’d been sure he was doing the right thing. 

In the last few weeks before the final battle with Naraku she’d seemed so sad.  Always crying herself to sleep when she thought no one could hear her.  It had further convinced him that letting her go would be the right thing to do.  He’d been doubly sure when Miroku and Sango had seemed to agree and chose Kikyou, too.  It had surprised him, but he’d still believed it was right.

InuYasha wanted to finally do something right by her.  He knew he’d treated her badly a lot during their entire friendship and he figured, for once, he’d do something _for her_ … if only just a little.

She was from the future.  Her family was there and he knew she missed them a lot.  She didn’t belong in his world and he knew that it was just a matter of time before she came to that conclusion herself and left him.  Knowing he couldn’t live through that again, being left behind, he sent Kagome home before it got to the point where he couldn’t let her go. 

She’d only been gone a few days when he’d realized that point had already arrived, but he knew that it was too late to go after her, tell her he’d made a mistake, and ask – _beg_ – her to come back.

He’d never told her how he felt about her.  He was sure she knew he cared for her, but he’d never told her just how much he cared, never given her the words. 

Chasing behind Kikyou all the time, he’d never had time to tell Kagome how he felt… and if he wanted to be truthful, he hadn’t really tried.  Instead he’d mated Kikyou and chose to make a life with her.

He loved Kikyou, really he did, but no matter how much he loved her he wasn’t sure he’d have mated her if he had another choice… if he had _Kagome._ He and Kagome had been through so much together and he trusted her more then he trusted anyone.  She brought out something in him no one else could… not even Kikyou.  Yet he’d sent her away with no explanations, _nothing_.

He’d made his choice and watched the light in her cerulean eyes die – eyes he’d known as well as his own.

Now, he was going to have to explain to her why he’d done what he had and pray she had it in her heart to forgive him.

And at the same time ask her to help them.

InuYasha sighed heavily and crossed his arms over his chest.  He didn’t know how he was going to do it, but he wasn’t stupid enough not to realize that he had to.  She was probably the only hope they had left.  He knew the others were right in sending him to get her.

They needed her.

For that reason alone he was sure Kagome would come back.  She wouldn’t do it for him, but she’d do it for Shippou, Sango, Kaede, Miroku… and even for Kikyou.  She’d do it for all the souls that had been lost and all the others in Japan that were in danger… because she was _Kagome_ ; selfless to the end.

Deep in thought and not paying attention to his surrounds, he didn’t realize how close he was to the harvesting fields.  He kicked a large rock about the size of a bolder out of his way like a ningen or child would do to a pebble as he moped to himself.

“Aye, InuYasha!” huffed Kaede, hands on her large hips. “Ye need not try and take me head off! Ye needs only call my name if ye require my attention.”

“What?” he looked up, a confused look on his face.  With a blink he looked around him before looking back at the one-eyed old miko.  “What do you want old hag?”

Kaede tilted her head thoughtfully as she regarded the hanyou, ignoring his usual rudeness as she noted the heavy droop in his shoulders and the confusion in his eyes.  “Is there something troubling ye InuYasha?”

“Huh?  Nothings troubling me!” he cried out, feigning ignorance.

She waited for a moment, giving the hanyou time to leave if he chose too, but when he just stood there looking lost she decided to try a different approach.  “Is there something on ye mind InuYasha?”

“Keh!”

InuYasha grunted and tilted his face to the sky, watching the clouds pass by quietly.  After a few moments of silence he began talking, telling the old miko everything.  He told it to her from the beginning; explaining the choosing and his part in it, to what he’d done to Kagome and ending with what the others had asked of him that morning.

“I see,” sighed Kaede.  _So that’s why Kagome had left..._ she’d often wondered what had caused the young priestess’s sudden departure.   “Ye have a difficult task before ye InuYasha… and all the more difficult since ye must ask for help from the very person ye have hurt.”

InuYasha bent his head and lowered his eyes to the ground then.  “I know.”

Kaede caught the whispered words as well as the look of sadness on his face.  Feeling some compassion for the hanyou she decided to give him some advice. 

“Ye need not look so sad InuYasha.  Ye not know her answer ‘til ye ask the question.  She once loved ye very much… that will mean something.”  She wasn’t sure _what_ it would mean exactly, but to a creature like Kagome she knew it would mean something.

Looking up at the miko, he eyed her quietly, before giving her a slight nod.  He’d expected her to yell at him too – he knew she’d always wondered why Kagome had left without saying goodbye – but she didn’t yell at him and she didn’t ask him any questions.

Turning away from her he began to walk back the way he had come.  He’d only taken three steps when her voice reached his ears and he froze.

“But InuYasha,” she said evenly, sadness in her eyes and voice, “do not search for that same love to still be there for even love can be killed.  Also, ye might want to admit the truth behind ye actions.”

Kaede knew just how bad the hanyou’s situation was.  She wondered if it even occurred to him that the mere fact that he was going through the well for the first time since Kagome left was because the world had a need of the young priestess again was going to cause the miko even more pain.  Sadly, she highly doubted it.

Rubbing a hand over her heart, she continued quietly.  “And do take care, InuYasha.  Even just the mere sight of ye can cause pain.  Ask ye question of her and be honest when she ask some of ye.  And most importantly… ye must accept her answer, whatever it may be.”

He waited a few silent moments before taking off into the treetops, never turning or looking back.

“Aah, InuYasha… ye is not the brightest star in the heavens, are ye?” she whispered the question aloud as she watched said hanyou disappear into the distance.  “But ye hold much heart.  Perhaps it will be enough for ye.”

 

****

 

_500 years in the future: Modern Day_

 

Kagome entered her mother’s home with a quiet sigh.  It had been a _long_ two weeks but finals were over and she was officially finished with her junior year at Tokyo University.  Now she had almost all summer to relax.

Yay, for her.  It would be more like two and a half months of doing the best she could to avoid the well house.  If she had the heart to chop down Goshinbuku she would have done that too, but she didn’t… and her mother would never allow it anyway.

She’d gone off to college after having finally graduated High School - having to re-do the last half of her freshman year caused her to graduate behind schedule.  Her mother hadn’t wanted her to go, worried she wasn’t ready, but Kagome knew she couldn’t stay that close to the well knowing she couldn’t go through it any longer.  She’d explained to her mother that she needed to get away and two weeks later she and her brother had loaded most of her possessions into the trunk and backseat of their mom’s car.

It had taken her the first month of living in dorms at the university to learn to not blast someone with her miko powers just because they’d made her angry.  It had taken the second month not to blast any of her professors and it had taken the third to convince her two roommates she wasn’t some kind of freak of nature they’d been saddled with.

It had helped that one of her roommates, Mayou, had reminded her so much of Sango.   And once she’d gotten it through Eri’s, Ayami’s and Yuka’s head that it wasn’t a good idea to mention “the mean and mysterious boy Kagome was seeing” things had started to get better, gradually. Eventually she'd enrolled herself into a Kendo class, having decided she wanted to learn to protect herself better, needed to, and continue her meditation training. 

Kicking her shoes off on the mat near the door she went further into the house, calling out for everyone.

“MOM, GRANDPA,” she yelled, “I’M HOME!”

“Kagome?” came her mother’s voice before the older woman appeared in the kitchen doorway.  “Kagome!”  She smiled as she hugged her daughter.  “How did you get here, sweetheart?  I thought your grandfather and I were picking you up tomorrow morning?”

“I decided to catch a ride with Eri and her mother when they offered.  It was no problem,” she smiled and waved it off.  “I’ve missed you mom.  Where’s Souta?”

“I’ve missed you too, honey. Your brother’s out with Hitomi again.  I believe she’s dragged him off to the mall this time...” she shook her head with a smile. 

Kagome’s mother eyed her daughter as she silently searched her face.  Her daughter had not left home under the best state of mind and she wanted to be sure Kagome was truly alright.  She’d had to stop herself several times from hopping into the car and going up to the university and checking on her. 

She still didn’t know all the details, but she knew the problem had centered around InuYasha and something he had said or done.  It usually did.  

At first she’d figured it was something similar to all their other fights and that the hanyou would show up either on her doorstep or Kagome’s windowsill and the two would make up, as usual.  But when weeks passed and the hanyou still hadn’t shown… she’d begun to realize that perhaps there was more to this problem then she’d assumed.

Kagome was still moping at that time so it hadn’t been very difficult to corner her daughter and ask a few questions.  When Kagome had quietly told her that InuYasha wasn’t coming when she’d inquired about him, she’d been worried.  All she was able to get out of her daughter though was that the conflict with that Naraku person was over, the Shikon no Tama was finally restored and back where it belonged, and, like the jewel, InuYasha had made his choice.

Then, after showing her an image of the shikon, her daughter had cried on her shoulder and she hadn’t had the heart to ask any more questions.

“So,” she began after determining there were no clouds in her baby’s eyes, “how were the finals?”

“Long,” sighed Kagome, dropping her purse and jacket in one of the chairs at the table, “but not bad.  I think I did well though I won’t know for sure for a while.”  She released another sigh, this one long and drawn out, as she took a seat at the table and pulled the hair band she had wrapped around her wrist into her hand and began gathering her hair up into a knot behind her head.  “So, where’s grandpa and when do I get to meet this new girlfriend of Souta’s.”

“Well,” her mother began as she turned to the sink to wash her hands so, she could start working on dinner, “I’m sure you can guess where your grandfather is…” she turned and gave Kagome a look over her shoulder.

“Backyard,” they spoke in unison than giggled like school girls as they thought fondly of the eccentrically traditional old man.

“Right,” she nodded, turning back to the sink.  “And your brother said he’d be home around six.  I’m sure he would have planned to be here when you arrived if we knew you would be coming home today.”  Turning off the water, she grabbed a paper towel to dry her hands before turning fully to face her daughter.

“Why don’t you call him on his cell phone, let him know you’re home,” Mrs. Higurashi suggested with a smile.  “I’m sure he would love the excuse to leave the mall early.  You know your brother.”

“Oh, I know,” laughed Kagome with a shake of her head.  “Souta and the mall never did mix well… But, nah, that’s all right,” she shook her head, “I can wait for him to get home.  I’m in no rush to scare his little girlfriend.”

Mrs. Higurashi shook her head at her daughter’s words, “You two…” 

“So, what’s this Hitomi like?” Kagome asked as her mother began pulling things out of the fridge for dinner.

“Hitomi’s a nice girl… a little bit more hyper than I expected Souta to ever bring home, but she’s sweet.  I don’t think I’ve ever seen her without a smile on her face.”

“God, is she one of those irritatingly happy people, who always have something to smile about and are eternally optimistic?”

“Yes, I dare say she’s exactly that,” smiled Mrs. Higurashi at her daughter’s description of the young girl she hadn’t even met yet.

She eyed Kagome out the corner of her eye when she heard her groan then couldn’t stop the laugh that came out at the disgusted look on her daughter’s face.

“Oh, stop it, Kagome,” she sighed as she quickly controlled her laughter.  “You haven’t even met the girl, yet.  Now, go say hello to your grandfather and let me finish dinner.  We’re having another American dish tonight, I’m sure you’ll like it.”

Kagome nodded as she turned to leave the kitchen in search of her grandpa, not looking forward to meeting her brother’s girlfriend later, but resigned to her fate.  Everyone knows that picking on happy people was never any fun.  Not to mention, all the unnecessary smiling was just creepy.

“And sweetheart,” she turned to look back at her mom when she called.  “It’s good to have you home.  You were missed.”

“I missed you too, mom,” she replied, sharing a smile with her mom.  “I’ll be in the back with grandpa.”

“He has some new stories he’s been itching to tell you, so be prepared,” her mother warned.  She nodded in acknowledgement as she left the kitchen, marching to her doom and knowing there was no way to avoid it.

 

~*~

 

Night had finally fallen, but as Kagome lay in her bed in the room that had been hers’ for as long as she could remember, she couldn’t seem to fall asleep.  She’d been completely exhausted earlier when she’d headed upstairs for a shower with every intention of sleeping immediately afterwards, but now that she was lying down, sleep seemed to elude her. 

For some reason she was restless.  She couldn’t seem to get the feeling out of her gut that something unexpected was going to happen and the odd mix of anticipation and anxiety was driving her nuts and keeping her awake. 

With a sigh, Kagome sat up and swung her feet over the side of the bed.  Deciding she’d go down to the kitchen and make herself a cup of tea, she grabbed her robe and threw it on over her pajamas – not bothering to tie the robe shut – than left the room for the kitchen.  She tipped-toed down the hall, doing her best to keep quiet as not to wake anyone else in the house as she made her way downstairs and into the kitchen.  Deciding to go for an instant cup of tea instead of brewed since it was so late, she grabbed a cup and filled it with water than, sticking a green tea bag in the water, stuck the cup and all into the microwave.  She hit two and a half minutes and started the microwave before taking a seat at the table to wait.

A moment later she stood again, heading for the fridge as she realized she would need some milk for her tea and the honey from the cabinet above the fridge.  Kagome reached out a hand, then froze as something sharp and tangy crossed her senses.  She tensed as she realized it was someone’s spiritual pressure… someone slightly familiar.  She turned her gaze to the window as she tried to focus on the approaching aura.  Whoever they were they were trying to mask their presence, which meant they either knew she was near or they were hoping she wasn’t.

Kagome dropped her hand and turned to look towards the hall that led to the front door.  Slowly she headed for the door as the aura moved closer and closer to her home.  Whoever they were they were just good enough to keep their identity from her even if not their presence.  Quietly, she stopped in front of the door, a hand reached out and resting on the door knob.  Taking a deep breath and gathering a bit of her power to her she opened the door.

Kagome froze, her heart stuttering to a stop as she stared at the familiar, wide, amber-eyed face before her in disbelief.

 “InuYasha….”

 

 


	2. Chapter II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A decision is made.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay. My beta is under the weather so it was left to me and that is never a good idea. I inevitably end up reading instead of proofing and then I start writing only to finally remember I was supposed to be proofing, then going back trying to figure out where I stopped proofing and well, rinse and repeat. It a vicious cycle really. Very ugly. Liable to leave you sleep deprived and starving due to the whole not-eating-and-sleeping-thing. I don't recommend it. Really. So yeah, any mistakes are mine alone, unfortunately. O_O

** CHAPTER II **

 

 **Previously** …

_Kagome froze as she stared at the familiar, wide amber-eyed face before her in disbelief._

_“InuYasha….”_

 

 

Shock and disbelief faught for control as she stared at the hanyou standing in her doorway.  She didn’t know what to think seeing him standing there, looking no different from the last time she saw him…. Of course, this time there weren’t any tears distorting her view.

Than the anger came. 

Sweet, mind-clearing anger took over, quickly pushing the shock and disbelief out of the way.  She wasn’t quite up to rage territory, but she was steadily creeping up on livid as she stared at him staring at her.  How dare he come here?  He had no right.   He’d made his choice and then in his next breath firmly kicked her out.  Sent her back home, pretty much telling her she no longer had a place there, though he’d never actually said the words.  Not that he had to; she wasn’t simple and his actions told her more than enough.

Folding her arms across her chest, she glared as her back stiffened.  “What are you doing here, InuYasha?  I didn’t think I needed to permanently shut the well.”

“Why didn’t you?” he asked, then winced.  The question was out of his mouth before he could think better of it. “Nevermind.”

Kagome arched a slow brow at him, but said nothing as she stared at him.  She owed him no explanations and, in truth, she didn’t have an answer any way.  She didn’t know why she never closed the well.  Sometimes it crossed her mind to do it, but in the end she never did.  Maybe it was because she knew no one else besides InuYasha could come through without her letting them and she’d never figured he’d ever come through it again.

Or maybe there had been a time when she’d hoped he would and was leaving him a way to do it.  To come after her and tell her he’d made a mistake and, no, he didn’t want her to leave.  He never did though and the time of her wanting him to was long pass and she had no answer for why it was currently still open.  The more likely answer was that she simply forgot about the Well; out of sight, out of mind she guessed, though it did slightly baffle her that she could have forgotten it so easily.

“You haven’t answered my question,” she informed him quietly.  “Why are you here?”  The _you don’t belong here_ loud, but left unsaid.

Kagome watched him fidget in front of her for a long moment before he seemed to take a deep breath and finally looked her in the eyes.

“We need your help.”

She blinked as she regarded him quietly.  That had not been what she expected him to say.  There were many things she thought he would have said, but that one was not on the list.  It’s funny, she’d gone through a gambit of hypothetical scenarios of why InuYasha would ever come to see her from apologizing (yeah, right) to trying to explain his decision to begging her for her forgiveness ( _again,_ yeah right), but never did she imagine he’d ever come asking for her help.

She wondered why that was, she scoffed to herself.  He always did think her useless…  Which meant someone else had to have told him to come to her; probably Miroku or Sango.  Which also meant it was probably important.

Figuring, since they took the time to send InuYasha to her despite everything, the least she could do is hear him out.  Stepping forward, Kagome unfolded her arms and pulled the door closed behind her.  She saw no reason to wake her family with this and hopefully she could have the hanyou on his way before anyone else was the wiser.

Pulling her robe closed around her, she re-crossed her arms as she gave him her full attention.

“Explain.”

 

~*~      

 

_500 years in the past_

 

“Do you think he went?  It’s been a few hours now and he hasn’t returned,” asked Sango with a small sigh.  She was worried for her friends even if she wasn’t sure if the term still applied between the miko and her.

“I don’t know,” replied Miroku as he came to stand beside his wife.  “I hope so.  Either way we must leave within the next hour if we want to make it to Lord Sesshoumaru’s before night falls.  We don’t want to be stuck outside after dark.”

“I know,” she nodded.  “Get Shippou.  Lady Kikyou is already prepared.  We’ll give him twenty more minutes and then we’ll leave whether he’s here or not.”

Miroku nodded in agreement as he turned to go find the little fox youkai.  He stopped for a moment to squeeze her hand with his.  “Don’t worry, Sango, he will know where to find us if he gets back after we’ve left.  And if it’s after nightfall InuYasha can more than take care of himself.  Everything will be fine.”

She nodded as she tried to give him a reassuring smile.  From the look he gave her she didn’t think she quite succeeded.  “I hope so.”

 

~*~

 

Kagome knew she was staring, but she couldn’t make herself stop.  She listened to everything InuYasha said, but there was no way he could be serious.  Right?  Did he even realize what he was saying?  What he was _describing_?  It just couldn’t be…  Okay, sure, yeah she’d come to accept there were youkai in the world and she even suspected there were some here in her time – if what she sensed while away at school was any indication there were a great many youkai still in the world – but this… this was just crazy.  Demons she could handle, b- but …

_Vampires?_

“InuYasha…” she trailed off, blinking, unsure what to say.  “You’re serious?”

“What?” InuYasha looked at her, confused.  Why would he lie about this?  “Of course, I’m serious!”

“I mean...” she shook her head as she tried to process, tried to _believe._ “Nevermind.”

“What?  What is it?” He looked at her, trying to search her face for a clue, but she wouldn’t meet his eyes...  He frowned as he watched her tense in effort not to fidget then slowly a suspicion began to creep over him.  He tilted his head.  “You know what these things are, don’t you?”

She side-eyed him as she lost her battle not to fidget, noting that he wasn’t really asking her.  It should urk her that he could still read her so well, but she had other things on her mind at the moment. 

“I… Yeah,” she replied, than shook her head, still unsure.  “I don’t know.  Maybe.”

“What does that mean?” he asked, completely confused and growing impatient. 

“It means what I said InuYasha; maybe,” she said getting annoyed.  “I’d have to actually see to be sure, but they’re supposed to be fictional, fake.  Not real.  But then, many people still believe youkai aren’t real either, so hell, what do I know.”

Kagome pulled her hand through her loose hair as she tried to think.  This was _not_ what she wanted.  She was finally over the past and had a good life going for her.  She didn’t _want_ to go back, literally or figurative.  But it was obvious they needed her help and could she really, in good conscience, turn her back on them?  They were once family to her and she had to admit, she did miss the others… Could she really leave them to fight this alone?  Especially if it was what she thought it was?  They’d need the power of the jewel and even though she left it with Kikyou the other miko would never be able to truly use it.  She sighed; she really didn’t have a choice did she?  She’d never turned her back on someone who needed her help and she wasn’t about to start now.  Nothing else was going to be taken from her.

“If what you say is right, InuYasha-”

“It is,” he cut in.

She nodded, continuing, “Then you all are in real danger.  Everyone; human and youkai alike.  No one is safe.  Age doesn’t matter to them, male or female, _nothing_ matters.  If what’s been written about these creatures is even remotely right then stopping them will be near impossible and they can multiply faster than anything you have ever encountered before.”

InuYasha tried to hide his concern as he nodded at her words.  He was realizing that the others were right to make him come here; Kagome obviously knew something about these creatures and she probably really was there best defense against them.  Quietly he took in the young woman before him – and she _was_ a woman now, no longer the girl he’d sent away.  She hadn’t grown any taller from what he could tell, but her hair was longer, now skimming her waist but just as thick and wavy as he remembered.  Her face was a bit narrower; having lost the rest of what baby-fat that had still been there the last time he saw her.  And she had definitely filled out in all the right places, he saw, as he surreptitiously took in the roundness of her hips and breast, the new tone-ness in her legs and arms.  Kagome had grown even more beautiful than she had been and if he was honest with himself, he would have said that wasn’t possible.

Yet there was one thing about her that hadn’t changed, one thing that still haunted his dreams; her eyes.  They were still as blue as he remembered; like the night sky before it went completely black.  They stole his breath every time and when he looked directly into them he was torn on whether to keep staring or to force himself to look away.

This time he made himself look away and prayed she didn’t notice him looking.  He could see that there was tension between them and she wasn’t okay with him being here.  He didn’t want to make her even more upset like she would be if she caught him looking at her the way he had been.  He’d given up that privilege a long time ago.

“So,” he began as he crossed his arms over his chest.  This was not easy for him.  _Asking_ would never be easy for him.  “Will you come back?”

She turned her head to look at him then.  Quietly she stared at him.  Visually, he hadn’t changed at all.  He was still the handsome young man stuck between human and youkai, both and neither…  The one person who had meant more than the world to her, whom she had been willing to _give_ _up_ the world for if he’d only asked it of her.  And looking back, now, she knew she would have done it.  Her sixteen year old self would have damned the world for a selfish wish from the hanyou standing before her if he’d asked it of her. 

Maybe he was right to have sent her home.  She was mature enough to admit that possibility now.

That didn’t make his rejection, his _betrayal_ hurt any less.

She hoped that the visual was the only thing about him that _hadn’t_ changed.

Kagome knew soon she was going to have to face all of that; especially if she was going to be spending an extended amount of time in the hanyou’s presence. She sighed once more then gave him a slight nod before turning towards her door.

“Really?” he asked in slight disbelief.  He’d expected more of a fight – some groveling on his part really.  Not to say it wasn’t deserved.

“I don’t really have much choice now, do I,” she called over her shoulder, not really looking for a reply.

“You always have a choice, Kagome,” he said solemnly.

She looked over her shoulder then, regarding him silently before shaking her head in the negative.  “No, I really don’t.”  And she didn’t, because she couldn’t turn her back when her help was asked for.  So she’ll suck up her own feelings and do what was asked of her now and deal with everything else after she returned home.  _If_ she returned home. 

“Go home, InuYasha,” she said as she turned back forward and opened the door.  “I’ll find you when I get there.  It shouldn’t take me too long; it’ll be daylight in a few hours anyway.”

He nodded quietly, though she couldn’t see him as her back was still facing him.

As she turned to close the door she looked at him for a moment then quietly gave him the words she knew he was expecting.  “I would love to tell you no, tell you to handle this on your own, but I don’t have that luxury because it’s more than just you or me at stake here.  Just be glad I’m not the heartless bitch I wish I was.”  And for the first time that night she let the anger and hurt she felt show in her eyes.  “Goodbye InuYasha.”

He tried to think of a response, any response, but she’d already shut the door in his face.  He heard the lock engage and just stood there, silently staring, before he turned to head back to the well, back to the past.  He bounded through the air, making to and inside the well house in three easy jumps.  As he made the final leap down the well, seeing the familiar blue light swell, he sent up a silent prayer to a God he wasn’t even sure he believed in that the miko he once knew would keep to her word as she once always did.               

 

***

 

Kagome waited on the other side of the door for a moment, listening, to be sure he’d gone before falling to her knees and releasing the tears she’d been holding on to since the moment she’d opened the door and found the hanyou on her doorstep.

Silently the young miko wept as the pain from years ago engulfed her heart and soul once more.  She pulled her knees to her chest as she folded her arms atop them so she could bury her face and hide for just a moment.  Kagome let herself cry for a while longer as she despaired over the situation she found herself in before sucking in a deep breath, holding it, than releasing it slowly.  She wiped her face as she slowly got to her feet.  She rubbed the sleeve of her robe over her face as she moved towards the kitchen, her abandoned tea her immediate goal.  Finding her tea where she’d left it in the microwave; she set it to reheat then turned away.

And nearly screamed when she saw her mother standing in the kitchen doorway silently watching her.

“So, when are you leaving?”          

Kagome couldn’t quite stop herself from flinching slightly.  “Wha-” she began as she quickly looked up.  “Mom?”

Mrs. Higurashi had to use everything she had not to wrap her daughter in her arms when she’d seen the tears streaming down her face as she’d fallen to the floor.  But she knew if she had done that, she’d never be able to let her daughter go back to that place… back to the people who had hurt her so badly.  Besides, she knew Kagome would not have wanted the coddling; her baby girl had always been the independent type.  Her daughter would not want anyone to know just how much pain she was truly in, not even her own mother.

She also knew Kagome had to go back.      

With one of her bedroom windows looking out over the front of the house, one of them even being over the front door, she’d heard most, if not all, of what InuYasha had to say and even though she didn’t like it, her daughter was a grown woman now and she needed to step back and allow her to be the woman she’d raised her to be.

“How soon are you leaving?  And how much do you want me to tell your grandfather and your brother?”

Kagome blinked at her mom for a moment, having no idea what to say before she asked. “How much did you overhear?”

“Most of it,” replied her mother honestly.  “He was already here and the conversation going when I’d woke up.”

Kagome nodded as she folded her arms around herself.  “What if I can’t do it, mom?” she asked quietly.  “What if I’m not strong enough?  After all, that’s the reason I came home to stay anyway; because they all believed me to be too weak.  What if they’re right and I am too weak to help them with this?  I’m not even sure I know what they’re fighting…” she shook her head as she trailed off.

“You _can_ do it,” replied Mrs. Higurashi.  “I have every faith in you and that boy has never struck me as the type to deal in ‘what ifs’ and ‘maybes’.  If he came here for you after everything that happened between you then he must believe you’re strong enough.  And if the rest of them sent him then they must think so, too.  And didn’t you tell me the jewel chose you over that other miko?”  She waited for her nod before continuing,  “Than it seems to me the only one who needs convincing is _you_.”

“I guess,” shrugged Kagome as she looked down.  Did InuYasha finally realize she was capable?  Or did he come because he knows the Shikon no Tama did not choose Kikyou?

“Come sit,” said Mrs. Higurashi as she wrapped an arm around her daughter’s waist to guide her towards the kitchen table and one of its chairs.  “There’s something I want to tell you.”

Kagome nodded silently as she let her mom push her gently down in a seat, the same one she’d sat in earlier that day, then squeezed her hand before moving away from her.  Kagome followed her mother’s movements around the kitchen as the older woman went about retrieving her tea from the microwave and getting the milk and honey she knew Kagome liked.  Mrs. Higurashi sat everything on the table in front of her daughter then went about making another cup, that Kagome assumed was for herself.

A few silent moments later her mother sat down across from her with a new steaming cup of Green Tea on the table in a similar mug.  Kagome watched her mother take a few sips in silence before taking a sip from her own cup.  Absently she watched as her mom added milk and honey to her tea, quietly waiting for her the other woman to speak.

“Do you know why I never stopped you from going through the well even though you were so young and I could tell that things were getting very dangerous?” Mrs. Higurashi asked thoughtfully.  “You never said anything, but we could all see it.”

Kagome shook her head as she regarded her mother, wondering where this was going.  “I admit I did wonder sometimes.  I knew you worried, that all of you worried, and that’s why I chose not to tell you too much.  I didn’t want you to worry about me.”

“Honey, I’m your mother,” she smiled.  “When you aren’t in my sight I’m going to worry.  It’s a mother’s job.  You’ll understand one day when you’re a mother with your own children.  You never stop worrying.”

“I’m sorry,” Kagome said quietly.  “I thought I was protecting you all.”

“I know,” nodded her mom, “and you don’t have to apologize.  You’ve always been the type of person who tried to protect the ones she loved even if it was as little as trying to do everything yourself so people wouldn’t worry about you.  And when your father died you tried even harder to not be a burden to anyone.  It broke my heart to see it, but nothing I or your grandfather said could sway you, so we finally let you be.  As long as you were happy…”

“And that’s why you never stopped me from going through the well?  Because I was happy?”

“Yes,” she smiled then sighed, “And because of your need to help those you care about.  I knew you felt responsible for what breaking that jewel caused and I knew you would never quit until you put things right.  You’ve always been that way and I knew if I stopped you you’d come to resent me for it one day.  And besides, I’d have never been able to handle the guilt I knew you would feel, so I let you continue doing what you needed to do.”

Mrs. Higurashi paused as she thought, taking another sip of her tea.

“Soon your grandfather and I saw that you were quickly beginning to care for the people over there, some more than others, and what you were doing out of sense of obligation you were starting to do because you genuinely wanted to help.  Then one day, not too long after you turned sixteen, your grandfather mentioned something to me and I knew I was doing the right thing.”

“What did grandpa say?” asked Kagome, curious and yet a little wary, knowing all the possibilities that could have come out of her eccentric grandfather.

“I told her your spiritual pressure was nearly as strong as her grandmother’s, my mother.”

“Grandpa?!” Kagome spun around in surprise at the sound of his voice; she’d never heard her grandfather enter the kitchen.  “Wait, you’re talking about great-grandma Aoki?”

“Yes,” nodded Mrs. Higurashi watching as her daughter looked between her and her father in slight disbelief.

“But… didn’t you once tell me grandma Aoki was the strongest miko of her time?  You said people use to always come here to be healed from one thing or another.”

“I did and she was,” smiled Mrs. Higurashi.  “And at 16 years old your spiritual strength was nearly a match to hers.  That’s how I knew I was doing the right thing.  Despite the danger and how it affected your school work you were thriving, growing stronger and you were happy.”

Kagome blinked as she stared, speechless, at her mother.  Slowly she turned to look over her shoulder, but blinked again as she realized he was no longer there.  When did he leave?

“Now, you are stronger than my grandma-Aoki ever was and as you continue to train you continue to get stronger.  There is a reason the jewel chose you and no one else.  It saw in you what we have always seen.  Now, it’s time you saw it, too.”

“I don’t know if you’re right,” said Kagome with a shake of her head, “I don’t know if the jewel was right in picking me, but I will do my best to honor that choice.  In the end it’s not about me and what I feel.  It’s about protecting those who can’t protect themselves, right?  So, I’ll go back and do what I can to stop whatever is happening there.”

Mrs. Higurashi nodded sadly.  “You should leave in the morning.  It sound to me that whatever is going on over there really has your friends worried.  I don’t think you should let them wait too long for you.”  Slowly she stood to her feet.  “Talk to your grandfather before you leave.  I think he has something that can help you.”

Kagome nodded silently, gaze focused in her tea as her minded wandered to things she’d really rather not think about.

“Kagome?” spoke her mom from the kitchen door way.  She waited for her daughter to look at her before continuing.  “Remember, forgiveness is not as much for the other person as it is for ourselves.  The pain will only linger on until you close the wound correctly.  When you’re ready listen to what he has to say… for both of you.”

Kagome stared at her mother for a long moment, unsure if she could do what she asked.  The last thing she wanted to do right now was hear anything InuYasha had to say… but she was honest enough with herself to admit that she might need to.

Kagome silently nodded, not trusting herself to say what she wanted to say instead of the truth.  She watched her mother eye her carefully before nodding back and leaving the kitchen for – she assumed – her bed. 

Kagome wasn’t sure how long she sat there staring into space, but she slowly got to her feet and headed for her own bed, absently turning off the kitchen light on her way.  As she laid back down she couldn’t help wondering if she was really doing the right thing.  Even if she wasn’t though, she knew she really had no other choice; she wasn’t going to leave everyone to fight alone if there was even the slightest chance she could help.  She set her clock to wake her up in four hours.  That would give her enough time to get dress, gather what supplies she needed and stop to talk to grandpa before going through the well.

“I guess… I’m really going back.”


	3. Chapter III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Kagome arrives in Sengoku Jidai. A reunion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay everyone. I lost all my work and had to rewrite everything... and I may have lost my motivation when it happened. But I'm back and it should not take nearly as long for the next chapters as I'm half way finish with 4 now.

Chapter III

 

Sesshomaru stood silently contemplating the old structure.  The Bone Eater’s Well sat about three feet in front of him.  Quietly mocking him as he tried to figure out exactly what the ancient contraption was hiding.  Once again, he could slightly sense the quiet power within, but had no idea how to access it… or what its purpose was if he had been able.  It was a _well,_ nothing more. 

At least as far as he could tell.

Even the power he sensed was not particularly strong or remarkable in any way.  It was not remotely enough to cause him any type of harm… yet for some reason he was wary of getting too close.  It was a conundrum.

He did not like it.

He usually had no issues understanding magick like this, but the power here was so faint and non-descript he could not tell if it was a spell or incantation or something else much older laying claim to the Well.  And because he could not be sure about any of those things, he could not rightly know what the power was meant to do nor try to counter it if necessary.  Not without triggering it first – and that was not something he was inclined to do without having at least some idea of what to expect.

If he was not careful he could find himself sleeping against the Well for the next 50 years like the idiot hanyou once did.

Sesshomaru, unfortunately, did not have time for inconvenient naps, he thought with a sigh as he quietly stroked a hand through mokumoku-sama’s fur.  He wondered, idly, if he should ask his mother for assistance though he was sure he knew what her reply would be if he were to pursue that course of action.  He was currently in the middle of imagining the frown his mother would give him – though he was certain she could shed some light on the issue as even he could discern that the power on the Well was very old and had been there for quite a while – and trying to decide on a way around it and all her questions when a sudden shift in the air caught and stole his attention.

Focusing his senses, Sesshomaru look curiously around him as he worked to understand exactly what it was that had caught his attention.  Something was happening, he thought as he turned his face into the wind before turning his gaze, sharply, towards the Well as he sensed something stirring at its powers.

His eyes widened slightly as a sudden and sharp blue light flared up from inside the Well.  He watched as it spiked high into the sky, above the treetops, before slowly receding back inside the dark depths of the old dry well.  Sesshomaru ears flicked as he heard some sort of shuffling sound coming from the relic then he gently sniffed the air and froze when a familiar scent caught his nose.

He would never forget that scent.  It was slightly aged, but still quite the same as he remembered; lilies and warmth and something like a summer storm.  And he remembered that smell of storm got sharper like thunder and lightning when she used her powers to strike with. 

Sesshomaru watched the top of the Well quietly as the shuffling drew closer to see if his senses were right.  He was pretty sure he knew what the power connected to the Well was for now.  It would appear that Bokusen-On-sama had the right of it when he called The Bone Eater’s Well a ‘pass’, he thought to himself and frowned, inwardly, that he had not put it together sooner now that he knew.

The moment he saw a delicate, long fingered hand reach and grab for the edge of the well he moved swiftly forward on silent feet.

~***~

Kagome sighed to herself as she slung her bow across her back and hefted her black messenger bag over her head to lay its strap across her body so it could hang at her hip.  She looked to the rickety, old wooden ladder in front of her and sent a silent prayer to God that the contraption wouldn’t collapse beneath her weight before she reached the top.  She may have wondered for a moment why no one had bothered to replace it, but then figured she was probably the only one to use it, so why would anyone else bother with it.

She gave the ropes and old wood another dubious look before gently, but firmly starting her ascent.  She tried to move as quick as possible without actually putting her full weight on any one make-shift step, but it was still slower than she would have liked.

Kagome released a breath of relief when her hand finally touched the lip of the well then looked down to make sure to put her foot on the last and very top step when she suddenly felt something grab her wrist and startled violently.

Kagome screeched in alarm as she fumbled the last step then shut her eyes as she felt her weight teeter and start pulling her back towards the bottom of the well.  She felt her stomach start to drop with dread as she imagined the pain such a fall would bring – not to mention the potential injury – when she suddenly felt her body going back the other way with a pull from an outside force.  Kagome let out an audible breath and reflexively fisted her hands on to whatever had her as she simultaneously fell against something very solid and felt her feet suddenly leave the ground.

She kept her eyes firmly closed and stiffened as she waited to feel the ground beneath her feet and realized that it wasn’t a _what_ but a _who_ that was currently holding her.

When she felt her feet settle on solid ground seconds (which felt like minutes) later she quickly blinked open her eyes and puzzled at the red and white flower pattern that slowly formed in her vision.  She blinked again and frowned before turning her head both ways, quickly taking in her surroundings, and relaxed slightly as she was sure she recognized InuYasha’s forest and the Well about three feet behind her.

Wait.  _Three feet?!_

Kagome turned back forward and slowly tilted her head back and looked up.  Eyes locking on to a familiar pair of golden orbs.  It took her a moment to realize it wasn’t the Inu youkai she had first assumed it was when she’d seen those eyes; they were much more golden then InuYasha’s.  She swallowed, nervously, as her fists tightened for a moment on the silk cloth she was still clutching before she realized what she was doing and quickly let go then automatically started to smooth out any wrinkles she may have caused with the palms of her hand.

This went on for a few moments until Kagome realized her actions could be seen as if she was caressing the Taiyoukai’s  ( _rather impressive_ ) hard chest and flinched away, trying to step backwards, but being unable to as she finally noticed the grip the youkai still had on her wrist.

How’d she miss that?

“Umm… Lo-Lord Sesshomaru…” she began, hesitantly.  “Hello?”

She winced inwardly at her awkward greeting that came out more as a question, but kept her eyes on his.

“Miko,” he replied as he regarded her for a moment, deciding to ignore her nervousness.  “It is a gate way?”

Kagome blinked then blinked again.  She wasn’t sure he’d ever spoken to her so… civilly?  It took her another moment for his words to register and for her to understand what he meant.  Her eyes widened a fraction as she tilted her head slightly in thought.

“Yes, I guess you could call it that,” she nodded, deciding to be honest.  She figured if he’d wanted to kill her he could have done it any one of the numerous times he’d saved her life back then.  He didn’t need to go to the future to do it, so there was probably no harm in him knowing.  He’d obviously figured it out any way as she could tell he was asking her more out of confirmation than out of a need for answers.  “I’d say it’s more like a portal though.”

“Where does it lead?”

She briefly wondered why he wanted to know, but answered him regardless.  “It leads to where I’m from; five hundred years in the future,” she said with a shrug then added, “though I suspect it can go to other times as well, but I’m not sure how.”

She watched as his eyes shifted from her to the well and then back to her.  A look of mild curiosity in his eyes.

“You once said I’m not like the other humans here,” she said, still watching him.  “Now you know why that is.”

“Hn,” he said, neither agreeing with nor denying her claims.  “And InuYasha knows of this?  Has been through this portal?”

“Of course,” she replied, growing more curious about his questions.  “Why do you ask?”

“How?” he asked, ignoring her question.

“How what?” she asked in confusion.  “How does he go through or how does he know?”

He arched a brow at her, but said nothing; finding the question obvious.  Of course he knows how the hanyou knows about the Well.

Kagome couldn’t stop herself from rolling her eyes at his attitude.  It was a perfectly logical question!  “Honestly, I’m not really sure, but I think it has something to do with the Shikon no Tama and his time being locked to Goshinboku.  I know wood from The Sacred Tree was used to build the Well and there is great power both within the jewel and The Tree of Ages.  I think both play a factor in why InuYasha can pass through without my assistance.”

Sesshomaru thought over her words as he watched her do the same.  He could see she was contemplating her own explanation as he watched her blue eyes gradually unfocus in thought.  Not long after she blinked and shuck her head as she focused back on him and what she’d been saying.

“I don’t think he’ll be able to do it forever though,” she began with a shake of her head.  “The ability is going to wear-off eventually.  There is a reason why Goshinboku allows him to pass unhindered and on his own, but once that reason passes so will his ability to enter the Well.  He will need the jewel or, at least, a shard to go through.”

“What reason?”

“I have no idea,” she shrugged.  “I doubt even InuYasha knows.  You’d probably be better off asking Goshinboku.”  She paused.  Yeah, that sounded just as weird out loud as it did in her head.  This place did that to you, she thought with a mental shrug.

“What?” she asked when she saw the look in his eyes then shrugged and added, “I’ve seen weirder.”

Sesshomaru hid his smirk.  Perhaps, one day, he’d introduce the miko to Bokusen-On-sama.  The anticipated look on her face may prove worth the effort…

They stood quietly for a moment, both thinking about what was said and what it could mean before Kagome suddenly realized just how close they were still standing – she could literally feel the heat radiating from his body (which she found a bit puzzling, considering she’d found him to be a bit on the cool side when she’d briefly been leaning against his chest) and gave a slight tug to her wrist to both get his attention and request he release her when she realized he still had a firm hold on her.

“Umm, could I have my arm back now?” she asked, trying to push down the blush that was threatening to rise.  She didn’t succeed.

“Hn.”

Sesshomaru gave her another look before he gently released his grip.  She was right; they did not have time to linger here and talk.  They needed to return to his home so the miko could help them with their current problem.  He could speak more with her about the Well later.

“Come,” he said as he turned to walk away.

“Wait, what?” asked Kagome as she scrambled to follow him.  “Where are we going?  I can’t go with you.  I have to find Sango and the others.  InuYashas said-”

“Exactly,” he replied, over his shoulder, cutting her off.  She really did like to talk. 

Kagome gave the Taiyoukai a frustrated look, but kept following him.  He led her a little further into the forest then came to a sudden halt inside a small clearing.  She stopped a few steps away from him and looked around, but saw nothing of note.

“Okay, now what?” she asked, bringing her gaze back to him.  “Why’d we come here?”

“This is where we depart,” he said as he held his hand out to her.  “Come.”

Kagome gave him a questioning look and looked around once more before she took the few steps to close the distance between them, but did not take his hand.  She stood in front of him, not even an inch between his out stretched hand and her chest, and waited silently – or almost silently.

“Now what?” she asked as she tilted her head back to meet his gaze.

Sesshomaru slowly lifted a brow, but tried not to sigh in exasperation.  The miko could still be highly annoying.  Lowering his arm, he swiftly wrapped it around her waist and pulled her quickly against him, ignoring the soft gasp she made.  He tried to ignore the softness of her generous curves against him by holding on to his annoyance.  It could not be denied that the miko was still as comely as his memory recalled, perhaps even more so as she was now a woman.

He wondered, idly, if she still held feeling for the hanyou and if she was aware the idiot had taken the other miko for a mate.  He, also, briefly wondered if either of those questions would prove to be a problem in the not so distant future.

“Now, we leave,” he replied as he looked to the sky and using his youki, called on the cloud he used when needing to fly Rin and/or Jaken with him.  “Time is of the essence.”

Kagome startled and immediately clutched on to his kimono, completely undoing all of the work she’d done when trying to flatten any wrinkles she’d made earlier.   She pressed herself closer to him as she felt them leave the ground and soar high into the afternoon sky.  She had forgotten about his wispy cloud of transportation, Kagome thought with a frown as she looked down at the cream colored bit of fluff beneath her feet.   She couldn’t even _feel_ the thing, she thought as she subconsciously pressed closer to the Taiyoukai beside her.  She wasn’t afraid to fly, but she did feel more comfortable when knowing for sure there was something _solid_ holding and keeping her in the air.

“Please don’t drop me…” she muttered under her breath, not sure if she wanted the youkai to hear her or not.

Sesshoumaru looked down at the miko pressed tightly against him when he heard the request and wondered at the apprehension he could smell on her.  Did she really trust this Sesshomaru so little with her safety?  She would fall only if he wished her to.  He opened his mouth to tell her just that when something from the ground below caught his notice.  Redirecting his gaze, his eyes swept the ground and trees below, swiftly, before locking onto a pair of glowing bright blue orbs hiding within the shadows of a thick tree top.

He held the other gaze even as he felt the miko stiffen beside him and also turn to look in the direction he was staring.  He figured her senses had also picked up the new presence below for he doubted her ningen eyes could see him from how high they were.

“Who-” she began, but stopped when the arm he had around her tightened slightly.

“Not here.”

Kagome nodded and turned back around as they sped off into the distance, away from whatever it was below that was pushing on her senses.  She would wait, but the moment they landed she would ask her questions, because even though she could not see whatever was below them she could feel it; and what she felt disturbed her on many levels… not just the fact she could sense _no_ _soul_ coming from whatever it was.

_‘Could it have been…’_

Sesshomaru focused on getting them back to his compound.  Any more questions could wait until then.  Also, he had learned that the creatures’ senses were able to rival that of many lower level youkai and some higher level ones.  He was not sure if that was one of the ones with superior abilities and did not want it to overhear anything else as he was not certain how long the being had been in the forest with them… if at all.

~**~

Glowing blue eyes watched as the human female and the demon stood in the sky and then sped off.  He wasn’t sure if the female had seen him, but he was quite certain the golden-eyed demon did.  Curious, that.

He also noticed that the female bore a striking resemblance to another female he knew.  Even more curious.

The master would want to know about this, he was sure, and possibly about the little bit he’d heard them say about that derelict well back in the forest.  Question was what or _if_ he was going to bother telling the _master_ (he scoffed with a roll of his eyes) anything though.  In his mind he owed the crazy old bastard nothing…  Maybe he’d hold on to this information for a ‘rainy day’, as humans liked to say.

Yes.  He would wait and see.  This battle was finally starting to get interesting, it would seem…  If he played his hand right, perhaps he’d come out better than he’d previously expected.  It couldn’t hurt to try.  And if it did prove to be a painful choice for him… well, it seemed he now had a few more bargaining chips to play.

~*~*~*~

Kagome released a relieved breath when they finally – _finally_ – landed and she figured from the side-eye he gave her that her efforts to hide it were not successful.  Eh.  Could he blame her?  He had her on a freakin’ cloud!  Sure it was a magic cloud, but it was _still_ a cloud.  She gave the youkai an innocent smile as he walked passed her and she followed him with her eyes then froze as she finally laid eyes on the structure in front of her.

It sat against the mountain.

Blink.

Kagome couldn’t stop staring.  It was huge.  She didn’t know whether to call it a fortress or a palace or what; it looked to have two floors but it spread out so far she couldn’t see where it ended in either direction.  Now she wished she’d been paying attention when they were still in the sky that way she could have seen the entire thing from above.  The grounds were perfectly groomed, but as Kagome slowly came out of her surprise she suspected that they weren’t entering from the front of the place.  She quietly followed behind the Taiyoukai as he moved towards the open sliding door directly in front of him.

“Is this your home, Lord Sesshoumaru?” she asked, voice full of curiosity and awe.

Sesshomaru turned his head slightly so he could see her from the corner of his eye over his shoulder.  He raised an eyebrow at her, but did not reply.  Why would he bring her to someone else’s home?  He quickly returned his attention to his home, pretending to not see the miko stick her tongue out at his back as he entered his office to see Jaken sitting behind the desk that was once his father’s but was now his own.

“Welcome back, Lord Sesshomaru,” greeted the toad youkai as he quickly moved to stand.

“Jaken, have you learned anything of interest yet?” asked Sesshomaru as he ignored the servant’s words and made his way over to the gold colored rope hanging in the right-hand corner behind the large desk, giving it a firm pull before returning his gaze to his retainer.

“I am sorry, Lord Sesshomaru, but I have found nothing in your father’s old scrolls that remotely even speaks of these creatures,” replied Jaken with a bit of a plea in his voice.  “It is as you said, my lord, there is no more information to be found within these walls.”

Sesshomaru eyed the miko, who was currently looking around the room with her eyes, and felt that perhaps that sentiment may no longer be true.  Bokusen-On-sama was sure the miko would be able to help with their latest problem, so was it too much to ask that perhaps she had some information to share as well?  Perhaps these creatures, whatever they were, were not uncommon in her time?

Sesshomaru turned his head to the other door in the room that lead to the rest of the palace when a pretty rabbit youkai with green eyes appeared in the door way.

He noted that the miko had also turned to face the door a good minute before Jaken did.  Interesting, he thought to himself as he considered the miko a little longer.  He could tell when he first saw her emerge from The Bone-Eater’s Well that she was much stronger then when he’d last seen her and that the bow she now carried was of a much better quality and craftsmanship then the one she carried before, but now he was beginning to wonder if maybe he wasn’t sensing the entire extent of her spiritual powers for she should not have been able to sense his servant coming so soon, especially the rabbit youkai that stood in a deep bow in the doorway.

Was she suppressing a portion of her power?  And if so, why? 

“My lord,” spoke the bowing servant, “how may I be of assistance?”

“Usagi, has InuYasha returned?”

Kagome’s head turned sharply to look at the Taiyoukai, but he did not return her gaze, keeping his own eyes on the pretty rabbit youkai.  He didn’t tell her InuYasha was at his home…  So that’s why he brought her here after she’d told him she needed to find InuYasha.

“Yes, Lord Sesshomaru,” replied Usagi with a small nod.  “Young Lord InuYasha and his mate are currently in the guest quarters with their companions except for the little kitsune; he is in the gardens playing with Lady Rin and Taijiya Kohaku.”

“Send him to me and tell him to bring the others.” 

“Yes, my Lord,” said Usagi with another bow before she quickly vanished to do as she was ordered.

Sesshomaru had seen the miko’s shoulders stiffen when his servant began speaking and could not help noting that she did not look very excited at the prospect of seeing her former companions.  The open curiosity she had been displaying was completely gone and replaced with a rigidness he would not have expected from the miko.

Interesting. 

Sesshomaru moved to stand near the shelves stacked with scrolls to have a better view of the entire room as well as the doorway that InuYasha and the others would be appearing from soon.  The new position also had the fortunate benefit of putting him behind the miko and, therefore, out of her immediate sight.  He saw Jaken give him a questioning look before, also, moving further away from the miko and the doorway that he could sense InuYasha and his humans approaching from.  It would seem even the toad had not missed the curious tension building in the air.

Kagome was having a quiet panic attack, but using all her focus to hide it.  _Mate?_ What _exactly_ did that mean?  Was InuYasha _married?_   And if so, to whom??  Was it Kikyou?  Of course, it had to be Kikyou.  Who else would it be?  And why in the hell did he not tell her?!  Her heart was beating too fast, she knew, but she couldn’t seem to calm down.  She knew he didn’t come to her to _catch up_ or – God forbid, _apologize_ – but he damn sure could have at least slipped in that he’d married Kikyou, dammit.  She at least deserved that much. 

Didn’t she?

Fudge!  Her stomach was churning, she felt like she was going to throw up, but quickly swallowed the feeling as she took a few involuntary steps backwards, away from the doorway leading to the rest of the house.  This was not what she had been expecting after agreeing to come back here; she knew she’d have to deal with everyone at some point, but not right away and definitely _not_ a married Kikyou and InuYasha. 

She must have done something really horrible in another life for God to hate her this much, she thought with a grimace as she felt a familiar youki heading towards her.  She could also feel the spiritual pressure of three others and figured she could guess as to whom they belonged to.

Kagome froze as she willed her heartrate to slow down.  Making sure to smooth any telling look from her face and checking that she hadn’t let any of _reiki_ leak, she straightened her spine and waited silently for the others to show. 

She didn’t have to wait long.

InuYasha was yelling before he’d even made it inside the room his brother used for his office.  The asshole knew he hated being summoned like he was one of his retainers, but he continued to do it anyway and InuYasha knew he did it on purpose. 

“What the hell do you want, Sesshomaru?” yelled InuYasha.  He was a good quarter way into the room before he noticed her and came to a sudden halt.

“Indoor voice, InuYasha,” sighed Sango as she entered the room a moment behind him.  “Honestly, you’re worse than Hikaru.”

“At least our daughter has the excuse of only being three winters,” added Miroku from behind her as he came inside.  They both instantly noticed the hanyou’s unusual silence and immediately looked to see what had caught their friend’s attention enough to keep him from commenting on being compared to a toddler.

Miroku’s eyes widened as Sango gasped, both frozen as they stared at the vision before them.

Kagome tried not to fidget at the scrutiny she was receiving as she silently noted when the other miko entered the room behind the others.   She took in the appearance of her friends and was glad to see that they, at least, looked happy then smiled inwardly at the thought of the perverted monk having a daughter.  If that wasn’t Karma or God’s sense of humor at work she didn’t know what was.

“Kagome,” breathed Sango as she took a step forward, but stopped as she noticed the miko’s shoulders stiffen.  She wanted to rush over and hug her friend, but she was getting the feeling the action would not be welcome.

“Hello,” replied Kagome, her eyes darting back and forth between the couple.  “Miroku, Sango,” she nodded, “It’s good to see you both.”

“It’s good to see you as well, Lady Kagome,” said Miroku, noticing that her smile didn’t quite reach her eyes.  Apparently, while InuYasha did go ask Kagome for her help, it would seem that that was all the hanyou did in his time away.  “InuYasha said he’d spoken with you, but that he wasn’t sure when you would be arriving.  If we had known, we would have had accommodations waiting for you.”

“Thank you, but that’s not necessary,” she shook her head; her eyes darting towards InuYasha, who was still openly staring at her, before she looked back at the other two.  “I didn’t really give him an exact time.”

Miroku nodded as he watched her.  “You look well, Lady Kagome,” he smiled.  She looked better than well, she looked great.  Kagome had aged beautifully.  What little baby fat that had still been with her when last they seen her was now long gone.  She was now the beauty Miroku had always said she would become, but he could tell she was still just as generous and sweet as she was back then. 

“He’s right, Kagome, you do look great,” said Sango with a small nod and a smile. 

“So do you,” she nodded in agreement and thanks in one, “both of you.  You both look happy.”

“Thank you, we are,” she smiled then shrugged as if in afterthought.  “Well, as best as can be expected now.”  Sango watched the other woman as she let the silence grow.  Her old friend was tense, she could tell, and in truth, she really couldn’t be surprised.  She’d probably be the same way if she were in her position.  “It’s been a long time.”

“Six years,” said Kagome with a nod of agreement, trying not to show just how unsure their presence was making her.  “Well.  We’re all here for a reason, right?  So let’s get started so I – I mean _we_ , so we all can go home.”

Miroku arched a brow at her slip and exchanged a glance with Sango, but remained quiet.  They both noted that InuYasha had yet to say anything… nor had he stopped staring at the other miko.

They were not the only ones to notice the hanyou’s behaviour.

“Okay, so why don’t you all tell me what you know of these creatures,” she began as she took her bow from her back and moved to lean it against the wall before returning to her previous spot, “and then we can go from there, okay.”

Miroku and Sango both took a step closer, but quickly changed their minds when Kagome flinched backwards, knocking into the Taiyoukai who now stood at her back.

Kagome turned and gave an apologetic look to Sesshomaru before taking a step forward and giving the others a slight frown.  She noticed InuYasha was now watching his brother, but shrugged it off as none of her concern.  As long as he was no longer staring at her she was completely fine with him staring anywhere else.

“Right.  Sorry,” she swallowed, not really sure what she was apologizing for.  “As I was saying, you should all tell me what you know and we can go from there.”

Miroku nodded then shrugged at her expectant look, not having any reason to argue with her idea and figured that it would help her know what information she didn’t need to bother with sharing… that’s if she had any to share.  Though he couldn’t shake the feeling that she did… and InuYasha did say he suspected that Kagome, at least, knew what the creatures were.

“From what we can understand they appear to be some kind of reanimated dead yet not quite,” began Miroku with a thoughtful look.  “I’ve seen what reanimated death looks like and that’s not what these things are.”  He shook his head as he tried to think of a way to be more specific, but he couldn’t.  “I don’t know what it is, but it’s not that.  It’s almost as if the line between life and death has been erased somehow, yet I know these things have no heartbeats.”

“They are also very strong,” added Sango with a nod, “and they can move as fast as a youkai.  But it’s not all of them.  Many of them move sluggishly or as if they are drunk from too much saki, yet even those ones are very strong if you make the mistake of letting them get ahold of you.  And they smell like death, but again, not all of them.”

“They appear to be able to regenerate from nearly any injury, no matter how fatal, but we have learned a few ways to stop them permanently,” said Miroku with a slight frown.  “Taking off their heads seems to be the most effective way.  They don’t come back from that.  Also, water that has been blessed can do great damage and, if use wisely, can stop them for good.”

“They will not cross onto hallowed ground nor do they seem able to enter a place owned by someone without a proper invite,” added Kikyou quietly from Miroku’s other side.  “The fact that they appear to have a way to pry an invitation out of most people makes that a rather insignificant point though.”

Kagome stared at the other miko for a long moment before nodding and looking away.  “Alright,” she nodded, “is that everything?”

She watched them all nod after exchanging looks among each other.  She opened her mouth to speak further then snapped it shut when the Taiyoukai spoke from behind her.  She’d nearly forgotten he was there, he was so quiet.  Okay, that was a lie.  There was no way she could ignore his presence, but she liked to think she could.

“Fire.”

Kagome turned and blinked.  “What?”

“Fire has proven to be most effective,” repeated Sesshomaru as he observed the miko.  His poison was also a successful tool, but seeing as he was the only one present that could use the information he saw no reason in mentioning it.

Kagome nodded and tried not to imagine just how the Taiyoukai had found that bit of info out.  She turned back around and opened her bag to pull out a large book then moved over toward the desk and placed it down, gently flipping the ancient book open.  She’d promised her grandfather she’d take good care of the old tome and she was determined to keep her word.

“Well, that’s good,” she said to them as she carefully flipped through the book.  “You’ve all figured a lot out on your own, so I won’t have to explain much.”  Kagome could feel them all move in behind her, surrounding her, each of them trying to look over her shoulder at the book.  Except for Sesshomaru, she noted, who now stood in front of her on the other side of the desk, also looking down at the book.

When she finally found the page she was looking for she gently smooth the page down as she stared at the illustration of a male creature with his mouth wide open and a sharp pair of fangs on display in black and white at the top of the page. “Tell me,” she said, never taking her gaze from the page, “did the creatures look like that?”

Miroku and Sango both sucked in a breath as Kikyou stood frozen staring at the picture.  InuYasha frowned as he nodded and folded his arms across his chest.  Sesshomaru, on the other hand, made no telling motion at all.  He just continued to give the picture a curious look.

“Yeah,” grunted InuYasha with a flick of his ears.  “That’s it.  Though most of them do not look… that _good._ But I’ve seen quite a few who look just like that one there,” he nodded towards the picture.  “They’re often the strongest of the bastards, too. Not easy to put down.  Fucking annoying as hell.”

“Fascinating,” breathed Kikyou, speaking for the first time since entering behind everyone else.  “I have never seen a scroll such as that.  It is a scroll, is it not?”

“What?” asked Kagome in slight confusion as she looked up at the older miko, but she quickly caught on once she saw the focus of her gaze.  “Oh.  Umm yes, sort of,” she nodded as she turned back towards the book.  The fact Sesshomaru was apparently listening to her every word did not escape her notice.  “Where I’m from scrolls are not widely used any longer.  This is a book.  Much like a scroll, but instead of one long sheet it’s composed of smaller, multiples sheets that have been bound together.  It can hold much more info than a scroll and on multiple subjects if that’s what you want,” she shrugged.

“Interesting,” replied Kikyou with a nod.  “And you can read this strange writing?”  She had many more questions to ask, but she was aware that the current moment was not the right time to ask and decided she’d wait for another time to corner the other miko.

“Yes-”

“Whatever,” interrupted InuYasha in annoyance.  “No one cares about the book!  Can we get back to the issue now?”

Kagome gave him a sharp look and watched as his ears flicked, but said nothing to the hanyou.  For a moment she almost said _sit_.  “As I was saying before I was rudely interrupted,” she frowned at InuYasha, so there was no mistaking who she was referring to before continuing, “Yes, I can read it, but there is not a great deal here.”

“My grandfather gave me this to bring with me after I told him what InuYasha had told me,” she told them with a little sigh, “but unfortunately, even for my ancestors these creatures were heavily surrounded by myth.  Where I’m from they are widely believed as mythical or fake – but then again, so are youkai for the most part, so what the hell do we know.”

InuYasha grunted, knowing her words to be true; he’d never seen or smelled any youkai any of the times he’d gone through the well.  Of course, the air was not as clean there as it was in his own time, which made it much more difficult for him to get a true read using his nose and he, also, had no idea that Kagome had recently begun to doubt her suspicions about the lack of youkai in the future.

“Anyway, they are called Vampyr or, the more widely used, Vampires.  There are many stories that depict a varying in strength and abilities, which lead my ancestors to believe that there is a kind of level or ranking in play like with youkai.  Lower levels, of course, are not very strong while the higher level ones are beyond strong and display incredible abilities.  Some may even have gifts like mind control.”

“How can we tell them apart?” asked Miroku with a frown.

“Basically, the more human they look the more difficult they are to kill.  Think of it like that and you’ll be good,” she shrugged.  “See, these things _were_ once human and though when first turned – that’s what they call changing a human to one of them – they are exceptionally strong, it’s no more different than, say, a human against a mid-level youkai.  Annoying, but not impossible to take.  And freshly turned are not that smart; their too controlled by bloodlust.”

“Bloodlust?” asked Sango, eyes wide.

“Oh.  Right, I forgot that part,” replied Kagome with a frown.  “Vampires survive off blood.  The really strong ones though can eat food, but it does nothing for them and they don’t require blood to survive.  They can eat any blood, but they prefer human,” she paused in thought for a moment then blinked, “though I don’t know how they may be taking to youkai blood… probably not a good idea to find out, if we can avoid it.  Some stories say they can take on the strength of their prey and I’d hate to find out if that was true with youkai blood.”

They all nodded in agreement as they exchanged looks between each other.  Except for Sesshomaru, who’s gaze remained fixed on Kagome, and Jaken, who kept his attention on his master.

“Is that all there is?  Nothing more?” asked Miroku in a mix of concern and curiosity.

Kagome shook her head, “there’s a bit more.”  She ran a hand through her hair as she looked at them all before giving an internal sigh.  She’d already planned on full disclosure, so there was no point in stopping now.  “Vampires date bac-” she shook her head, cutting herself off, “that doesn’t matter, just know they’re old.  And if this is right, they’ve been living in the shadows and killing when necessary for a long time.  You were right, when you said they were like death, but not.  For all intents and purposes, they are dead; they have no heart beats, they don’t need to breathe and they need the blood of others to live, but going without will not actually kill them.  Like youkai, they are immortal, but they _can_ be killed as you all know.  Sunlight is one of those ways, though it is speculated that a born Vampire can withstand sunlight to some degree.”

“ _Born?_ ” asked Miroku, a little incredulously.  How was that possible if they were dead?  “ _How_?”

“Well, I would imagine in the same way you found yourself with a daughter, Miroku,” replied Kagome with a deadpan look.  “How should I know?”

Miroku blinked.  It would seem Lady Kagome was no longer the sweet little innocent she used to be…  He wondered what else had changed.

“Okay…” began Sango with a look at Miroku before she focused back on Kagome, “We know beheading, fire and now sunlight can kill them.  We also know of holy water.  Anything else?”

“Spiritual power should be just as effective as the water,” nodded Kagome then she added with a shrug, “And most likely Lord Sesshomaru’s poison; it’s much like acid, so…Acid.”

“Also you should all know that a born Vampire is obscenely strong,” she continued after a moment of quiet.  “A born one who has reached adulthood could take on InuYasha – and possibly win,” she frowned as she gave her old friend a look.  “But a much older Vampire, born or turned, who has reached Ancient status, could possibly match Lord Sesshomaru.”

Kagome tried not to show her skepticism.  She’d seen what the Taiyoukai and his swords were capable of and she had doubts there was a Vampire out there that could face that and survive.  But she was only here to impart facts, not her opinions.

Sesshomaru arched a brow as he met the miko’s gaze, but said nothing.  There was something in her voice he could not quite place, but he had a feeling she did not completely hold with what she said.  The question was which part?

“No inferior creature can best Lord Sesshomaru, miko,” said Jaken from beside his master with the utmost faith.  He had no doubt of his Lord’s abilities and he was going to make sure they all knew it.  “Lord Sesshomaru is the best warrior there is!  None can face him and win and would be a fool to try.”

Kagome raised her eyebrows at the little toad youkai and smiled.  She’d almost forgotten he was there; he’d been so quiet thus far.  “Well, Jaken, I’m sure you’re right,” she said as she looked up at the Taiyoukai.  “Let’s hope you’re right.”

InuYasha looked between his brother and Kagome and frowned, not liking the way they were looking at one another, but unsure why it bothered him.  His ears flicked, uncomfortable and unsure what to do about it.  “Is that all?”

Kagome looked at him, hearing the irritation in his voice and wondering at the cause.  She nodded with a shrug; there was no more in the book than what she’d told them.  She knew because she’d already read it once before she’d come through the Well.

“I just have one concern in all of this,” said Kagome thoughtfully.  She bit her bottom lip wondering if she should continue as they all turned to her with enquiring looks, even Sesshomaru and Jaken.  Should she really give them one more thing to worry about?

“Continue miko,” ordered Sesshomaru, already sensing he was not going to like what she was thinking.

Kagome sighed.  Fine.  They probably needed to know anyway.  “I just…,” she frowned then started again.  “According to this Vampires have been around for centuries, yet it seems no one here knows about them and in my time it’s not even believed that they exist... So obviously they went through a lot of trouble to stay hidden…”

Miroku nodded, catching on to what she was saying.  “So why now?  Why are they showing themselves now and so aggressively?”

“Exactly,” said Kagome, smiling in relief that someone was getting it.  “And more importantly, why _here_?  What is so important that they would risk whatever reasons have kept them in hiding?”

Sesshomaru blinked.  He could think of one reason; _power_.  When it came to fighting and waging wars it was always about power.  And he could think of one item that seemed to attract individuals with a strong thirst for it.

Bokusen-On-sama was right, this was about the miko.  Sesshomaru just was not sure in exactly what way yet.  He would have to keep an eye on the miko when she was outside of his walls for he had a suspicion the answers he needed resided with her.


End file.
